Obama: Health Care Law Working

Says he will fight effort to strip away its protections

President Barack Obama shakes hands after speaking about the new health care law on Tuesday in the South Court Auditorium on the White House complex.
(Evan Vucci | THE ASSOCIATED PRESS)

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Published: Tuesday, December 3, 2013 at 4:03 p.m.

Last Modified: Wednesday, December 4, 2013 at 3:23 a.m.

President Barack Obama pushed back against Republican opposition to his health care law Tuesday and pledged to make Obamacare work even if it takes the rest of his term. In an address, Obama accused GOP critics of trying to kill his reform law without offering solutions to the problems of the health care system.

President Barack Obama shakes hands after speaking about the new health care law on Tuesday in the South Court Auditorium on the White House complex.
(Evan Vucci | THE ASSOCIATED PRESS)

"My main message today is, 'We're not going back,'" Obama said. "That seems to be the only alternative that Obamacare's critics have. You've got good ideas? Bring 'em to me. But we're not repealing it as long as I'm president."

The promise came as the White House tried to take hold of the public relations mess created by the faulty federal online marketplace he launched. Other problems popped up Tuesday as well. Here's a look at some of them.

Audit: subsidies vulnerable to fraud

Government subsidies to help Americans buy insurance under the health care overhaul may be vulnerable to fraud, a Treasury Department watchdog warned on Tuesday. The new problems concern subsidies that are available to low- and medium-income people who buy insurance through state-based exchanges that opened in October. Those subsidies are administered by the Internal Revenue Service in the form of tax credits, and that's where the trouble arises.

"The IRS' existing fraud detection system may not be capable of identifying (Affordable Care Act) refund fraud or schemes prior to the issuance of tax return refunds," said the report by J. Russell George, the Treasury inspector general for tax administration. "The IRS reported that the long-term limitations of its existing fraud detection system include its inability to keep pace with increasing levels of fraud," the report said.

Sounding more upbeat, Acting IRS Commissioner Danny Werfel said, "The IRS has a strong, effective system in place for administering the Premium Tax Credit. We have a proven track record of safely and securely transmitting federal tax information and we have a robust and secure process in place to deliver this important credit for taxpayers."

Notre Dame re-files suit against birth-control mandate

The University of Notre Dame has re-filed its lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, challenging the controversial mandate that employers cover contraception in the health care benefits they provide workers. Filed Tuesday, the lawsuit states that the government does not have the right to impose rules on the university that violate its religious beliefs.

"This lawsuit is about one of America's most cherished freedoms: the freedom to practice one's religion without government interference," the complaint says. "It is not about whether people have a right to abortion-inducing drugs, sterilization, and contraception."

Notre Dame first filed suit in May of last year. But their complaint was deemed premature since the mandate had not yet taken effect and the administration had indicated it still might alter the regulations to accommodate religious organizations. The government also held off on enforcing the regulation as conversations continued. The mandate now is expected to take effect Jan. 1, 2014. To date, 86 lawsuits have been filed challenging the law's contraception mandate, including 41 hospitals, charities, religious colleges, and Catholic dioceses.

CONSIDERING WHICH HEAD MAY ROLL FOR WEBSITE ROLLOUT

White House officials, asserting that the website is largely fixed, are under mounting pressure from Democrats and close allies to hold senior-level people accountable for the botched rollout and to determine who should be fired. For weeks, the president and his aides have said they are not interested in conducting a witch hunt in the middle of the effort to rescue the website. But in the West Wing, the desire for an explanation about how an administration that prides itself on competence bungled so badly remains an urgent mission.

Officials declined to offer details about which government employees might be under the microscope. But there is a long list of people who have been publicly identified as key players.

The possible targets include Kathleen Sebelius, the health and human services secretary; Marilyn Tavenner, the head of the Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services; Mike Hash, the head of the health and human services health reform office; Michelle Snyder, the chief operating officer at Medicaid and Medicare; Henry Chao, the chief digital architect for the website; Jeanne Lambrew, the head of health care policy inside the White House; David Simas, a key adviser involved in the rollout; and Todd Park, the president's top adviser on technology issues.

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